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05-28-2007, 02:58 PM | #1 |
Drives: 2007 Yaris Hatch Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 54
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New CAT Converter story....
So I go back to the dealers when I get the little post card telling me my part is in (Cat Converter - Sulfur smell). I get up early on Saturday, drive 5 miles to the dealership, drop off my car and take the bus home. I get home and in 15 minutes I get a call telling me that I can pick up my car because the 02 sensor "seized" when they tried to remove it. That means that they started work on my car in about 30-45 minutes, as I timed the bus wait and getting home. I wonder if anyone knows if an 02 sensor can be pulled while an engine is still hot, or should they have waited until the exhaust system cooled down? When told me that I can pick up the car and drive it until they get a new sensor in, that's all they told me. He was ready to say goodbye to me when I asked him "Does it have a check engine light?" He told me "yes". Now I am mad that I had to ask him and he didn't tell me up front that I would be driving around with a CEL for three days (Holiday weekend - closed on Monday). When I questioned him further about driving around with the CEL, he said "no problem, it's not a drivability issue". I politely declined and told him that I have another car that I can drive for a couple of days.
As I started thinking about this, I drove back down the dealership about a few hours later and got ahold of the service writer and asked him to explain in detail what happened. Just so happens that the mechanic who was working on my car showed up and the service writer tells me to talk to him. So the mechanic takes me back to the service area shows me the cat converter, explains to me that this is a recurring problem when they try to remove 02 sensors, that since the sensors and the pipe and made of "dissimilar" metals, after a while they get frozen to each other and when they order a new converter they usually order a new sensor just in case they need one. But the crew who ordered my cat. converter did not order the sensor at the same time so now they need to get the sensor. This mechanic told me he has been working for Toyota for 23 years and this is a big problem with Toyotas. I priced the sensor in the parts department and it was over $200 (heated 02 sensor) So now I am wondering why Toyota does not try to fix this problem since it seems to me that they are losing money in the form of not being able to reuse an existing perfectly good 02 sensor, once it gets "frozen" into the pipe. Also I am writing this as a word of caution that if anyone intends on getting their Cat. Converter replaced under this TSB, be SURE TO ASK THE SERVICE REP. TO ORDER THE 02 SENSOR---JUST IN CASE!!. |
05-28-2007, 04:30 PM | #2 |
Super Moderator
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Thanks for the heads up.
Do you by any chance know what the CEL code is? Might come in handy in the future.
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05-28-2007, 04:55 PM | #3 |
Drives: 2007 Yaris Hatch Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 54
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Funny you should ask. As it happens, I do have the scangauge connected to my car. The chances are that it should have caught it and it is still in memory. I will check it on Wednesday when I pick up my Yaris and post it.
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05-31-2007, 10:05 AM | #4 |
Drives: 2007 Yaris Hatch Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 54
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Well, I picked up the car today and they had installed the New Cat converter. I actually inspected it on the rack with a printout of it from the service manual. I wanted to make sure that the rubber hangers were on correctly. They weren't. They had to be pushed back, flush with the steel rod projection from the cat. I don't know why service techs. can't do it right the first time. Maybe it will give them cause to think if they know that the occasional customer will be inspecting the work done. You know that they are terrified with the after repair survey that you get either on line or in the mail. The NEED to have all excellent or Toyota comes down on them from corporate. Anyway, I looked at my scangauge for trapped codes, but there weren't any. I think what happened is that they must have left the "seized" 02 sensor in there when they realized that they couldn't get it out, so since it was still "functional", it did not trap any codes. I said I would report back, so there you go.
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05-31-2007, 11:13 AM | #5 |
Modded Moderator
Drives: 07 Toyota Yaris, 71 Galaxie Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Wenatchee, WA
Posts: 3,670
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Is there a PDF of the cat TSB? I'm going to take my car in to take care of a few things and so far all I can find is the TSB on the washer nozzle and squeaky windshield.
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05-31-2007, 01:36 PM | #6 |
Drives: 2007 Yaris Hatch Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 54
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05-31-2007, 01:41 PM | #7 |
wa do dem
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lets all get new cats for free ;)
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05-31-2007, 01:43 PM | #8 |
Look slow, go fast
Drives: 2007 Yaris Liftback 5 spd Join Date: May 2007
Location: Florida
Posts: 14
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It isn't a Toyota-specific problem, the o2 sensor seizing... That happens in almost all cars... It's a corrosion problem. I've never seen an exhaust system that is made out of the same metal as the sensor in it. Usually you can get it out with some WD-40 and a breaker bar, if not that, an impact wrench... It surprises me that a mechanic would try to shirk that simple task, but dealerships are 100% about the money. In my shop, when a sensor or bolt seizes we let it sit with some WD-40 for a little while and take a breaker bar or long box wrench to it with a hammer to provide some extra 'oomph'.
When I replaced the o2 sensor on my truck it was a really bad case so we heated the pipe and sensor with an acetylene torch and poured a lot of cold water onto it, the different rates of expansion and contraction broke the corroded sensor free and it came out with a standard box wrench.
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05-31-2007, 01:46 PM | #9 |
Drives: 2007 Yaris Hatch Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 54
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Now there's a thought......what would Toyota do? Probably mark "TOP SECRET" on all future TSB's and hand deliver them to the dealers. But I do know that if you ask, the dealer has to show you the TSB's on your car.
On another similar thought...what would happen if everyone is say a 100 story building flushed all the toilets at once? |
05-31-2007, 09:31 PM | #10 |
Drives: 3-door liftback blazing blue Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: French Lick,IN
Posts: 185
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I think you would have to scan your computer with the scan gauge before it would have a code in it
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07 yaris LB 5-speed blazing Blue 07 yaris LB Auto Bayou Blue rostra cruise control oem style foglights 96tacoma 4x4 xcab I4auto Weathertech vent visors Scan GaugeII |
05-31-2007, 09:45 PM | #11 |
Drives: Absolutely Red Liftback Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 570
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06-02-2007, 11:21 AM | #12 |
Drives: 07 YARIS HATCH 5 DOOR Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Montreal Qc
Posts: 354
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wil have mine done tomorrow morning
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06-02-2007, 07:11 PM | #13 |
Drives: 08 Yaris Liftback S (RIP 07) Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Fair Lawn, NJ
Posts: 1,378
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is there a tbs thread?
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06-03-2007, 12:50 AM | #14 |
Your Toyota Technician
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funny that so many dealers have issues with this. for one, i rarely ever did an a/f or o2 when hot... second, doing the sensor pays more. this was done on purpose by many many many technicians do make more warranty time
jerk: TSB EG035-06 EXCESSIVE SULFUR ODOR (REVISED) |
06-03-2007, 01:23 AM | #15 |
Drives: 08 Yaris Liftback S (RIP 07) Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Fair Lawn, NJ
Posts: 1,378
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na i mean is there a tread that has a pdf of all the TSB's? i keep hearing/finding new ones or ppl tlkaing about them but i cant find them
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"It hurts more when its wet" |
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